Liverpool
Key facts
- Country
- Australia
- Diameter
- 1.6 km
- Age
- between about 543 million and 1 billion years
- Location
- 12.40° S, 134.05° E
A small, round hollow about 1.6 km across with a raised sandstone rim, in remote Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
Liverpool is a small impact crater about 1.6 km across in Arnhem Land, in the far north of the Northern Territory, Australia.
What can be seen. The crater is a round hollow with a raised rim of sandstone, well preserved for its great age. It was partly filled with sediment that has since been partly eroded.
What it hit. The impactor struck Proterozoic sandstones, more than a billion years old.
Proof of impact. Geologists found breccia and quartz with shock features, which confirmed an impact.
Age. The age is very poorly known. The crater is older than the Cambrian sediments that covered it, about 543 million years, and younger than about 1 billion years.
Why it matters. Liverpool shows that even small craters can survive for hundreds of millions of years when they are buried and later exposed. The impactor is unknown.
Visiting. Arnhem Land is Aboriginal land, and entry requires a permit from the traditional owners.
Did you know?
Liverpool is a small crater that has survived for more than 500 million years.
It lies in Arnhem Land, which needs a permit to enter.
Its sandstone rim is still well preserved.